Is Rock Music REALLY Back?

Overview

Rick Beato opens by addressing the question of whether rock music is truly “back.” He pushes past claims of industry “plants” by looking at a curated list of newer rock songs (released within the last year) from artists with large Spotify followings—often 1M+ monthly listeners. The video is framed as a quick snapshot of what’s actually happening in modern rock.

Reactions & Highlights

• Dexter and the Moon Rocks – “Freaking Out”

  • Rick enjoys its early-2000s pop-punk / retro vibe.
  • He praises the snare sound and highlights the track’s chart momentum.
  • Reportedly, it jumped from ~500K to 8M Spotify monthly listeners in a couple of months.

• Throne – “Split”

  • He reacts strongly to how heavy it is.
  • A key standout is a tempo change he finds genuinely impressive and “original.”

• The Paradox – “Do Me Like That”

  • Rick points out its classic pop-punk structure: verse / pre-chorus / chorus / post-chorus.
  • He calls the hooky break well written, and praises that it’s well recorded and mixed.
  • He compares its energy to late ’90s / early ’00s Blink-style pop-punk.

• Knocked Loose feat. Denzel Curry

  • Rick dubs it modern screamo blast-beat metal.
  • He jokes it’s not exactly “for breakfast” (unless you wake up to it).

• Superheaven – “Long Gone”

  • He likes the ambient background vocals and the emotional, layered alt-metal feel.
  • He discusses how hard it is to sound new—especially with four-chord choruses—but credits this song for still feeling compelling.

• The Warning – “Kerosene”

  • He’s impressed by musical variation inside the four-chord chorus.
  • This includes a small harmonic shift (a suspension / turnaround).

• President – “Mercy”

  • Rick praises the melody and space.
  • He highlights a smart chorus approach: the band holds chords longer and switches rather than looping a simple repeated pattern.
  • He also notes interesting harmony, including a major 7 color.

• Dead Pony (Scotland) – one of their songs

  • Rick appreciates that it’s less mainstream on the list.
  • He notes it’s around 262K monthly listeners and says it sounds cool.

• I Prevail – “Violent Nature”

  • He critiques it more than the others.
  • He calls out a hyper-edited, silence-bombing production style and a buzzy, in-your-face mix that feels like an “assault.”
  • He says he doesn’t connect with it as much.

• The Last Dinner Party – “Big Dog”

  • This becomes the biggest sonic contrast on the list.
  • Rick highlights the juxtaposition: from hyper-edited metal to an indie-rock sound with lots of space.
  • He points to a distinctive chorus built over a riff, which he says is unique on the list.
  • He credits the arrangement and production for making it feel meaningfully different.

Wrap-up

Rick lands on the idea that there are 10 current rock songs worth checking out, without declaring a simple yes/no. Instead, he invites viewers to decide in the comments:

“Is rock music back?”

Personality(s) Appearing

• Rick Beato (host/reactor)